A good friend sent an e-mail the other day―addressed to the usual gang, all friends―citing the recent rash of airline pilot incidents: a Delta crew landing on the taxiway; a Northwest crew getting distracted by their laptops; and a United pilot arrested for drinking. He ended his messages with this question: "What is going on in the airline business?”
After a quick Google search I replied: “Over 50,000 airline flights with dedicated, professional crews in their cockpits operate each day without incident. That's what's going on in the airline business.”
So often―and with increasing frequency, it seems―we allow ourselves to be drawn to the sensational minutiae, rather than considering the whole picture. This is partially a result of instantaneous communications. News flashes appear on our Blackberries. We can't ignore them. Constituents get outraged, call for hearings. It's all over the news. Ignorant commentators chime-in ad nauseum. We hear. We read. We cringe.
Nothing has changed. These incidents have been happening for generations. What haschanged though, remains unheralded: commercial air transportation continues to be the absolute, unmitigated safest way to travel. And it keeps trending even better.
Okay, now your questions. Did I know any of the people in the news? Yes, I am acquainted with the person who got arrested. He's a nice guy. He'll be removed from flight status and placed in a dry-out program, after which he will return to the line. But he won't get a third chance.
The laptop situation? Gross negligence. It's not the laptops that are at fault; it's the way those guys allowed themselves to become complacent. Still, they didn't run short of fuel, and they didn't cause a mid-air threat because ATC kept tracking them. No one came near being hurt.
Landing on the taxiway? Three sets of eyeballs in that cockpit are guilty, not just the captain. But remember they were coming off of a 10 hour all-nighter. My guess is that if there had been airplanes on that taxiway, that crew would have seen their error and executed a go-around. Thus either way, there was no immediate collision potential. No one came near being hurt.
And, the guy who had the alcohol in his blood―he had two other pilots with him. Even if he had flown, a safety factor was already in place. No one came near being hurt.
Moral: Flying is safe. The vast majority of flights don't make the news―a good thing. For the ones that do, many safety layers are in place to correct errors.
There are always exceptions. The latest one: Colgan Air 3407, Buffalo NY, 12 FEB 2009. You know that story. Here's a good place to focus. Make sure your air carrier hires competent, experienced, professional well-paid pilots! How do you do that? I don't know. Write them. Write congress. Write the DOT. But be ready to pay more for your ticket.
Dang, I was going to tell you abut the message I sent to another planet.
Next time.
After a quick Google search I replied: “Over 50,000 airline flights with dedicated, professional crews in their cockpits operate each day without incident. That's what's going on in the airline business.”
So often―and with increasing frequency, it seems―we allow ourselves to be drawn to the sensational minutiae, rather than considering the whole picture. This is partially a result of instantaneous communications. News flashes appear on our Blackberries. We can't ignore them. Constituents get outraged, call for hearings. It's all over the news. Ignorant commentators chime-in ad nauseum. We hear. We read. We cringe.
Nothing has changed. These incidents have been happening for generations. What haschanged though, remains unheralded: commercial air transportation continues to be the absolute, unmitigated safest way to travel. And it keeps trending even better.
Okay, now your questions. Did I know any of the people in the news? Yes, I am acquainted with the person who got arrested. He's a nice guy. He'll be removed from flight status and placed in a dry-out program, after which he will return to the line. But he won't get a third chance.
The laptop situation? Gross negligence. It's not the laptops that are at fault; it's the way those guys allowed themselves to become complacent. Still, they didn't run short of fuel, and they didn't cause a mid-air threat because ATC kept tracking them. No one came near being hurt.
Landing on the taxiway? Three sets of eyeballs in that cockpit are guilty, not just the captain. But remember they were coming off of a 10 hour all-nighter. My guess is that if there had been airplanes on that taxiway, that crew would have seen their error and executed a go-around. Thus either way, there was no immediate collision potential. No one came near being hurt.
And, the guy who had the alcohol in his blood―he had two other pilots with him. Even if he had flown, a safety factor was already in place. No one came near being hurt.
Moral: Flying is safe. The vast majority of flights don't make the news―a good thing. For the ones that do, many safety layers are in place to correct errors.
There are always exceptions. The latest one: Colgan Air 3407, Buffalo NY, 12 FEB 2009. You know that story. Here's a good place to focus. Make sure your air carrier hires competent, experienced, professional well-paid pilots! How do you do that? I don't know. Write them. Write congress. Write the DOT. But be ready to pay more for your ticket.
Dang, I was going to tell you abut the message I sent to another planet.
Next time.
Post your captions for this. (BTW, that's not me.
It's a pudgy captain I used to fly with a lot
when I was a happy DC1-0 F/O.)
Do you miss the DC-10's?
ReplyDeleteAlan-Well said, as usual. Normal everday life and small succeses do not get headlines and sell advertising.
ReplyDeleteThose that live on the daily drivel proffered by the alleged 'news' outlets, are doomed to see only the venal and low side of life-and then call that 'normal.' They are worse off by having made that choice.
John
For the Picture: "Ok, I found you. You gotta fly this leg"
ReplyDeleteI couldn't think of a rough airport to land in....
Alan, I agree..Well said. It is so similar to the School Bus Transportation industry where you only here about the "not so good things" on the news. And yet because of the hundreds of thousands of school kids that get transported each day, the school bus is still the safest way to get to school.
ReplyDeletePicture: "To down or not to down?", that is the question.
"But be ready to pay more for your ticket."
ReplyDeleteSounds ominous.... but it really is a non issue. Currently the salary and benefit package in total make up way less than 10% of the ticket price. Even if it increased from 6-7% all the way up to 10% it would be on average less that the cost of one extra bag fee. When I eat out the wait staff expects 15%. Oh, I guess that's why some pilots moonlight as waiters.
Yes, I do miss the Diesel-10. Do you know why it was called that?
ReplyDelete"Ok, I found you. You gotta fly this leg" Good one.
So, when do I get to read your blog, Andy?
Good point, Mike. My hat's out.
Why was it called Diesel-10? From the clouds of smoke it left behind as it took off? LOL!
ReplyDeleteI was mainly riding on L-10's those day as Teeny Weeny only flew them.After I lost my pass I flew Western's DC-10's a lot back and forth to the islands. Oh those days of wasted youth.
Next month I get to fly a USAirExpress crj9 to Sin City and come home on a AA DC9. 2 more planes to add to my list.
The news media just loves to exaggerate the danger in just about everything they report. The aviation industry is known for safety and if the media smells even a tiny piece of information exposing that they will let the whole world know.
ReplyDelete